Alright, so there's no need to preach to the choir here. You all know the words pretty well, and I'm sure we could all get up on stage and sing the lingo just as well as the next ball-less altar boy. Let's just slice to the cake here, Mr. Community. The map isn't any better than the last one. In fact, just about the only thing that's changed is the colour, and Herculine's undying penchant for Pain Elementals. It's the same copy/paste material, the same anarchic monster placement and gameplay impediments, and the same marathon style backtracking. Almost everything is exactly the same as was mentioned in the review of the previous map two editions ago. So unless you're a matador, the bull itself, or just one of those people who are irrationally intrigued by a wad's ability to generate scathing reviews, help yourself to a hot mug of skip and play something else instead.

Scorching heat - VariousLimit Removing - Solo Play - 1613637 bytes - Reviewed by: The Ultimate DooMer
This map is big. BIG. Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig with a capital I. And it's for Plutonia. And it's a community map. It starts off in a neat-looking city area and pinballs around various sections with many other themes as you return to and from the city before eventually flying off in a shuttle to somewhere else. Some of the areas look really good (like the main city area), others look really bad (particularly the hellish cave section), some feel pretty good (like the Duke city bit), while others don't seem to get it right (particularly the dark brown/metal section).

The good thing is that, unlike some other community maps, it's not purely single-path; the bad thing is that the paths are twisty-turny and linear once you get outside the main city area. There's also a neat but poorly-executed door lock system due to its graphic choices (using a single texture in many different colours would've been better and less confusing than using all 6 key textures plus a few other tech ones). The gameplay also has the symptoms of being a community map in the sense that it's not balanced, and each section has enough weapons/ammo/armour to still be completable if the circular blue teleporters took all your stuff away when you used them. The final sections are also no different from the earlier ones, which is a bit of a let down.

The main good point about this collaborative effort is the detail in most of the individual sections and the feel of others; if you like your architecture, then you'll want to look. It's quite a slog though, and the gameplay isn't varied or balanced either; I wouldn't play it all at once.

Throne of Hell - Nathan ClarkVanilla - Solo Play - 1984642 bytes - Reviewed by: The Ultimate DooMer
A small E1M8 replacement, which almost reminded me of uac_dead with its opening room (just the shiny metal base theme with a night sky, not the actual layout), but that was a fleeting thought as I entered the base (which packs marines instead of zombies, and curiously 8-eyed mspaint-dotted imps). The rooms are simple, underdetailed (though carrying some themed detail in places), and linear, with themes going from bases to hellish chapels. Gameplay is straightforward too, with weapons, etc. given to you along the way and not much to challenge; even the final room is easy due to the excessive pickups. Oh, and the chapel door doesn't open. It's OK if you like an easy ride, but aside from that it really needed testing before release.

Skidball - CeebZDoom Compatible - Deathmatch - 488341 bytes - Reviewed by: The Ultimate DooMer
A simple game of football, played with a NeonRainbowSmoothie-coloured zombie. The aim is to stun him with the pistol (required), then punt him into the goal with the gauntlets. It's aimed at 2 players, but I can imagine it being a bit chaotic with too many more.

EDEN.WAD - Mal BlackwellVanilla - Solo Play - 44221 bytes - Reviewed by: johnfulgor
Eden is a Doom 1 tech-base styled map. The level of detail is low, if not absent, but maybe this is not so abnormal for a vanilla Doom compatible design. The map starts at the beginning of a long and uniform corridor, to continue in some quite anonymous and void square rooms. Some relatively more interesting elements are present, indeed: a pulsating red cross on the floor, a curved stair, a blue room with some piece of furniture. The use of light is not ignored, but the effect is not so convincing. The placement of goodies and items is, from an aesthetic point of view, poor.

Let's come to game play. The author himself warns us about the frustration we may feel searching for hidden passages; well, he is right. After clearing the greater part of the level in a couple of minutes, I got stuck in the wandering search for the first hidden passage. I hoped to find some hints around, but I was wrong: when I opened the map with my editor, I found the secret door in the middle of a uniform brown wall. There are two other secret doors in the map, but these are more easily found, since the search areas are more limited.

What I cannot understand in this map is the unnecessary presence of weapons, ammunitions and power-ups of all sorts, just to dispatch a few humans and a cacodemon. It seems that the author felt obliged to use the whole stock for some unknown reason.

A last word about the known bug, which prevents the complete raising of a bridge. I've tested the map with ZDoom and Chocolate Doom, but the result is always the same. The bridge does not work. This should be fixed, even if it is possible by chance to run over the remaining gap and complete the map.

TOT COMICS DOOM - Joe AndersonVanilla - Solo Play - 334385 bytes - Reviewed by: 40oz
I was hesitant give this wad a try. I've seen screenshots of TOT COMICS related projects, and those particular screenshots left a bad taste in my mouth (and my eyes too, I think.) I was expecting to play something with lots of MS Paint textures and new weapons ripped from screenshots of Half life and whatnot. To my surprise, this particular wad does not deviate too far from standard Doom gameplay.

This wad includes some new textures, mostly MS Paint graphics with vibrant colors and gracefully pixelated text (including a few spelling errors), but all in all it's still a standard Doom wad. To his credit, there are very few Doom wads of this style that don't require ZDoom to be able to be played. I feel the author of TOT COMICS Doom has taken a lot of inspiration from games like Half-Life 1. Especially since the mapping is pretty much used to draw out realistic objects like cars and desktop computers instead of giving each map a crisp smooth look. The maps are designed in a hub-style in which it feels as though all 7 maps are connected in a single location, and are about as short as the intervals between the little "Loading..." text that appears in the midst of progression in Half-Life.

This is a meek little adventure that features pretty predictable monster encounters and lacks any real difficult battles. It's pretty linear and takes about 10 full minutes to complete all the maps. There's certainly nothing unbearable, as I once expected before playing. The maps don't really feature much that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, though it's somewhat easy to detect the kind of design the author intended to have. I have no regrets for playing this.

Rust Point - Andrew Vanilla - Solo Play - 443491 bytes - Reviewed by: st.alfonzo
Malinku's Rust Point is an interesting level. Or, at least, it's an interesting level for those that find such things as I find interesting to be interesting: Escape velocity; biologically engineered samurai; irregularities in the pension fund... that sort of thing. If you don't, then you might just see this as another standard quality map to be thrown onto the rest of the pile. But oh, that's fine too by the way, because even then I would still recommend the map for having a good blast through.

The design of the level is probably the greatest talking point. It's different from most in that although there really isn't all that much to look at, it's still attention grabbing thanks to all the different quirky looking shapes and angles. These features are applied in a simple manner, an interesting (not to overuse the word) point once again because it complements the overall feel to a level which is otherwise and in itself quite simple. In fact, the map is almost artistic in its shape and flat usage, as the impression it leaves you with may be likened to the one obtained when walking into a gallery and sighting an impressively abstract sculpture (probably entitled something loony like "stretched cheese"), right before you don your "look at me I'm an intellectual" cap and start stroking your face to pretend you're mildly interested in everything. ...Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but taking a look at the two screenshots provided should give a good enough indication as to what I mean here: It's one of the few situations in which a limited texture usage really helps out with the design.

Other than that, the difficulty is perhaps a tad too easy (though this isn't necessarily a bad thing for what it is) and the gameplay nothing greater than accommodating, but I can easily see this sort of application in design forming some outstanding levels in future. Given plenty enough time and application, of course!

Happy Birthday Revenant` - 40ozLimit Removing - Solo Play - 72325 bytes - Reviewed by: The Ultimate DooMer
This is the first one of these I've reviewed...quite an unusual idea, giving maps as birthday presents. It's a multi-coloured (perhaps a bit too much) base-type thing without much light, and detail isn't too bad given its fairly quick build time. Gameplay is fairly ordinary; some rooms interact with each other from above/below, but otherwise it's a single path. The map contains a revenant, but only one; perhaps with a single non-revenant it might've been more interesting. But still, as with other presents it's the thought that counts.

Revenge of the Reviving Angry Imps - PhilnembaBoom Compatible - Solo Play - 12942 bytes - Reviewed by: Malinku
Here is a simple map where you kill some imps that will be revived by an Arch-vile.

You start in a brick room with some imps and a shotgun. After going out the door you kill some shotgun guys. Walk up some steps, grab the blue key, and hit a few switches. When the last switch is hit an Arch-vile get teleported in. Go back to the starting room to meet the Arch-vile. Exit.

It's a bland map that is not very fun. Avoid unless you really need to waste a few minutes.

Project Awesome - Gavin GrayVanilla - Solo Play - 20676 bytes - Reviewed by: MegaDoomer
An enticing name for a wad, and half an episode of maps to boot. But unfortunately, these maps are anything but awesome. Rather than having a specific thing to make them bad, these maps make up for it by being incredibly basic. Tiny maps, NO detail, almost completely square rooms. Many sections are just a boring chain of rooms connecting by doors with no texture change whatsoever. The fights are similarly dull, and are absolutely nothing that hasn't been done thousands of times before, and done better just as many times at that. I took three screenshots just to show the three MOST interesting fights I could fine (this is not a typo). One to avoid for sure.

Hell Bent: Episode 1 - Chris BourkeZDoom - Solo Play - 923978 bytes - Reviewed by: The Ultimate DooMer
A 9-map episode that travels through various base/cave maps before disappearing into hell (as you do). None of the maps are that big, but they do hold a few surprises...mainly the pink fleshy map, the new enemies, and the slow weapon progression.

None of the maps have large amounts of detail, but it's usually sufficient to avoid looking bad (except in the 3rd map and the secret map), and the hell sections are quite well done in terms of texture choices and giving the relevant impression (particularly the pink fleshy map). The other maps aren't very inspiring though, except perhaps the library.

The gameplay is the talking point though - firstly the weapons are slowly acquired...pistol/melee only on the 1st map, secret shotguns on the 2nd map, and no heavy weapons till the last (which is a hidden rocket launcher). Secondly the new enemies - a brown gargoyle that resurrects mobs...which can look annoying at first sight, but they're so flimsy and sensibly-placed (mostly) that it's not so bad; the only issue is using them around other mobs in the 2nd map when you're still toting a pistol (and the fact they can resurrect each other too, but that in itself isn't much of an issue when you get weapons). There's also a self-resurrecting imp that's rarely used, and a shadowy imp which keeps you on your toes. There's too much ammo around, but health isn't overly-common so it doesn't play too badly. If you don't mind the weapon curve, it's worth a play despite its flaws, and it's not too long either.

Reality Maps - TimeOfDeath (Chris Balch)Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 244460 bytes - Reviewed by: The Ultimate DooMer
Here we have 3 maps with a twist - you're not allowed to take a single hit. Otherwise known as the "reality" gamemode, these maps take the concept and gives it and the player a workout in careful gameplay. And succeeds handsomely too - you have to think outside the box just to clear the first room, and after that you need crowd and ammo control skills to win. The second map is an almighty impfest with a bit of infighting, and the third is a fairly cramped encounter with you-know-who at the end. If you've not tried this mode before, it's certainly worth a go; if you have, then it's still a blast to play and to see where the concept has been taken.

United Mod - BattlefrankZDoom - n/a - 2847 bytesReviewed by: purist
United is a Dehacked file that Battlefrank made as an experiment, and then, pleased with the results, released for our pleasure.

The pseudonym Battlefrank-enstien would have been more appropriate for this mod, as his creation is very much a monster made of mixed up parts. The concept is to morph THINGS on a frame by frame basis whilst the player fires unceasingly at a rate that would leave Doomguy arthritic from RSI before Entryway is out. The outcome is pure chaos and, I concede, a passable distraction on a play-once basis.

This may have been an interesting gameplay variation if it was somewhat more controlled, but instead playing United feels like running around inside Hell's own slot machine.

Finally it should be noted that, despite the accompanying text file, it seems this WAD does not run in PRBoom+. I used ZDoom for the most stable (if that's the right word for this mod) results.

STRiNGHOLD - Ismaele (Alberto Sposito)Vanilla - Solo Play - 16712 bytes - Reviewed by: The Ultimate DooMer
Protip: If you're going to take the piss out of something, at least have the decency to do it properly. In this case, defending a badly-textured/detailed base from waves of lemmings or walking trees etc. would've been appropriate...rather that what we get here, a default-textured map with a sign that's supposed to be funny. The only funny thing is that the gameplay is almost semi-OK for what it is...a small-scale encounter with two choices and limited ammo/health. Aside from that, "no".

The /newstuff Chronicles is written entirely by players like you. Visit the /newstuff Review Center to help out. If you are not a member of the Doomworld Forums, please sign up, because you need an account to submit reviews.

Share this comment

Link to comment

In all honesty, for some reason I find this screenshot very visually appealing...

Angles, brother. It's all about the angles. I do my best to take the most visually appealing shots for every wad I review, but try taking a shot of that same area with everything looking parallel to each other and it's a different kettle of fish entirely. And I don't mean cuttle or trout.

Also, The Master Levels Menu Interface really is the best thing since Unsliced bread. Yeah, that's right: Real men rip chunks off the loaf.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Also the hell section for Scorching Heat seems to suffer from a severe case of tormentor's detail guide syndrome. It seemed like there was a lot of crap thrown around that looked really out of place, like random segments of wooden tiles and broken bricks thrown in a cave with little thought as to whether or not they had any real reason to be there.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Also the hell section for Scorching Heat seems to suffer from a severe case of tormentor's detail guide syndrome. It seemed like there was a lot of crap thrown around that looked really out of place, like random segments of wooden tiles and broken bricks thrown in a cave with little thought as to whether or not they had any real reason to be there.

Alright I admit, I ran through this quickly last night with a little noclip and god mode sprinkled on. I'm actually quite shocked that with so many mappers on a project not one of them stopped and said "what the fuck is this???" I've not seen a bigger mess of map in a long time.

Share this comment

Link to comment

PROTIP: When you use prefabs, be sure to tweak them a bit first, because I swear if I see another doom wad with that prefab hotel room thing I will never play another wad by you.

I don't think prefabs have any place in Doom. Detail is never that complicated or worth it to save into a file. It also has the 2.5d problem going with it, clashing with other detail such as floor cracks. Prefabs were more useful with games like Quake 2 which demanded higher detail (see that crashed pod at the beginning for example) but couldn't use model decorations everywhere.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Mega quick question for 40oz: Your birthday presents. Do you try to incorporate the recipient's style into the maps you make? Or do you just make the map in your own style completely and forward it to the birthday boy/girl with hugs and kisses, and possibly an easter egg or two (Revenant in revenant`)?

Share this comment

Link to comment

Good question. I've been kinda thinking about that. Usually I'll ask what the person's favorite style of map is. But if I don't know, you usually can't go wrong with techbases. Sometimes I do other things specifically for that one person. For example, I know Snakes and I share an interest in old school hiphop so I uploaded his map with a Cypress Hill midi (I couldn't find any midi's of other good hiphop groups) Also I intended to use STARTAN style textures and E2 styled textures in Happy Birthday Esselfortium since he's working on TSoZD and he loves STARTAN.

Revenant's map had a new sky texture of stars because he's "in space" so to speak. I also knew his taste in music is kinda mellow so I decided to pick something jazzy and original. The intermission music was used as a kind of gag because he's all about inside jokes too.

I've been thinking about making new textures for some maps too. It could take a lot of interrogation to find out what doom maps would best appeal to the birthday guy's interest and would kinda ruin the surprise, so I usually do it based on what I know and what is safe. Short and easy techbases are often the best I can do.

Share this comment

Link to comment

I've been thinking about making new textures for some maps too. It could take a lot of interrogation to find out what doom maps would best appeal to the birthday guy's interest and would kinda ruin the surprise, so I usually do it based on what I know and what is safe. Short and easy techbases are often the best I can do.

Hmm. It might be a bit much on the time-and-effort scale to make new textures specifically for a birthday-gift speedmap, but between the textures you've made or edited yourself, and all the other textures available from other community members, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to incorporate some custom stuff here and there to mix up your options once in a while.

Share this comment

Link to comment

Oh and thanks for the review Ultimate DooMer (Hell Bent EP1). Faint praise is about fair for the set and I'll take any constructive critism I can get. My next project will comprise of bigger, more intense Hell-themed maps for limit-removing ports.

Share this comment

Link to comment

I like Reality Maps. It really demands the best from the player, instead of letting him/her stumble through the maps like a blind idiot. It always bugs me when a game lets me win a fight even if I think I screwed up royally. That is not a problem here.